Motion Lesson 2 - Speed Problems

Name: ____________________
Speed Problems
To determine the speed of an object, you need to know the distance traveled and the time taken to travel
that distance. However, by rearranging the formula for speed, v=d/t, you can also determine the distance
traveled or the time it took for the object to travel that distance, if you know the speed. For example:
Equation…
v = d/t
d=vxt
t = d/v
Gives you…
speed
distance
time
If you know…
distance and time
speed and time
distance and speed
Examples:
1. What is the speed of a cheetah that travels 112.0 meters in 4.0 seconds?
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The speed of the cheetah is 28 meters per second.
2. There are 1609 meters in one mile. What is this cheetah’s speed in miles per hour?
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The speed of the cheetah in miles per hour is 63 mph.
Practice Problems:
1. A bicyclist travels 60.0 kilometers in 3.5 hours. What is the cyclist’s average speed?
2. What is the average speed of a car that traveled 300.0 miles in 5.5 hours?
3. A snail can move approximately 0.30 meters per minute. How many meters can the snail cover
in 15 minutes?
4. How much time would it take for the sound of thunder to travel 1500 meters if sound travels at
a speed of 330 m/sec?
5. Calculate the average speed (in km/h) of a car stuck in traffic that drives 12 kilometers in 2
hours?
6. Suppose you ride your bicycle to the library traveling at 0.5 km/min. It takes you 25 minutes to
get to the library. How far did you travel?
7. You ride your bike for a distance of 30 km. You travel at a speed of 0.75 km/minute. How many
minutes does this take?
8. A train travels 225 kilometers in 2.5 hours. What is the train’s average speed?
9. An airplane travels 3260 kilometers in 4 hours. What is the airplane’s average speed?
10. A person in a kayak paddles down river at an average speed of 10 km/h. After 3.25 hours, how
far has she traveled?
11. An airplane travels from St. Louis to Portland in 4.33 hours. If the distance traveled is 2742 km,
what is the airplane’s average speed?
12. The airplane returns to St. Louis by the same route. Because the prevailing winds push the
airplane along, the return trip takes only 3.75 hours. What is the average speed for this trip?
13. It takes Stu, a slimy slug, 20 minutes to travel from his favorite bush to the local trash can (a
trip of 30 meters), how far can he travel in 1 hour?
14. If it takes Leaping Louis 5 minutes to jump 3 blocks, how long will it take for him to jump 15
blocks?
15. If you drove a motorboat a distance of 1000 meters in 7.045 seconds, what is the speed?
16. A boat is traveling at a speed of 36 km/h. It will travel a distance of 210 km. How long will it
take?
17. A car takes 4 hours to reach its destination. The distance was 340 miles. What was the speed?
18. A car travels 300 km in 6 hours. What is the speed of the car?
19. What is the speed of a jet plane that flies 7200 km in 9 hours?
20. What is the speed of a cyclist that travels 60 km in 2 hours?